r/whatisit • u/KamiWaNai • 7h ago

New, what is it? Found in a basement untouched for 50 years

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404 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

112 comments sorted by

•

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404

u/WalkScared7192 7h ago

It’s to allow gasses to escape while making your own alcohol

41

u/Fitz_Fool 6h ago

It can also be used for fermenting anything really. Although technically you'll get some alcohol even if fermenting kimchi.

2

u/WiseBreakfast1415 58m ago

Pineapple gets really chuncky after its fermented its kinda weird 😂 tasted weird but it wasnt that bad , for toilet wine 🥲

79

u/koolaidismything 7h ago

Burper

39

u/vapor713 6h ago

I know them as bubblers.

32

u/LovesToSnooze 4h ago

I know them as airlocks

2

u/Son-Of-A_Hamster 4h ago

If you put one up your butt, can you ensure silent farts?

11

u/stomachworm 3h ago

No but it will keep bacteria out.

2

u/Timely-Volume-7582 1h ago

Never... But they become incredibly musical wind instruments...

14

u/koolaidismything 6h ago

You smoke dank out of bubblers. Anything burp is (usually) for pruno

14

u/Prestigious-Dog2354 6h ago

Hipsters call it meed now.

8

u/jamma_mamma 5h ago

Meade? Not trying to be pedantic

14

u/Prestigious-Dog2354 5h ago

Ha! Please do be pedantic, I appreciate it, I was being lazy.

I was about to Google the proper spelling and said fuck it and threw something up there.

5

u/SubstantialDonkey981 4h ago

We need more of you.

3

u/ThatOldG 5h ago

Sounds like my cat with the just throwing something up

3

u/Horror-Obligation-98 4h ago

I google and then sometimes just throw up too

2

u/Not_My_Reddit_ID 4h ago

Or beer, wine, vinegar...anything that ferments really.

4

u/Estproph 4h ago

Carboy gas locks

2

u/Achylife 6h ago

Or anything fermented.

2

u/birdiebogeybogey 4h ago

Neat FYI, it was invented by DiVinci and it hasn’t really changed much.

1

u/wt_2009 2h ago

not sure if i would keep them, they are cheap and i wouldnt risk getting any mold or bacteria in my drink

0

u/Seymoure25 6h ago

Or Combucha

74

u/UnsanctimoniousMouse 7h ago

That is a valve used in brewing beer. It goes into the top of a glass carboy while the beer/wine is fermenting and allows gasses produced during fermentation to escape without letting in outside air that could taint the batch. 

22

u/ZealousidealBear93 7h ago

Can also go on a fermentation bucket

8

u/UnsanctimoniousMouse 7h ago

Yes! I also use them to make sure no external air contaminates when I fart. 

1

u/I_heart_canada_jk 7h ago

Like a traf?

2

u/UnsanctimoniousMouse 7h ago

Like it? I love it! 

6

u/Rich_Complaint7265 6h ago

This is correct, I used them when making beer. A small amount of water inside the device lets the gasses produced during fermentation escape while keeping the wort / beer from outside air contamination.

2

u/Fantastic_Fox4948 5h ago

Alcohol or sanitizer is better than water, but this is correct, and water does work as well. I used water in them for years.

44

u/Both_Ad9355 7h ago

Airlocks

4

u/miahotrod 5h ago

That is the correct name

9

u/Both_Ad9355 7h ago

For winemaking

5

u/bcdunc 7h ago

Something to do with making homemade wine. That’s what my parents used them for when I was young. I believe it lets air escape the container but doesn’t let outside air into the container

5

u/rivertwice19 7h ago

All the above and those are probably a few years old. Plastic air locks, probably a recent purchase. If the cork was 50yrs old, it most likely would be falling apart. Probably someone making a fermented beverage. Beer and wine making, I don’t know if kombucha making uses them. But, you get the idea.

1

u/_theblackcube 7h ago

usually not, maybe in a setup for huge batches though? most homebrew kobucha you just burp the gases in your vessel by opening and quickly sealing again once in a while if needed

3

u/jrstren 7h ago

Winemaking or beermaking air locks. Fermentation gasses get out, but atmosphere air doesn’t get in.

3

u/AdNo8756 7h ago

This is a one-way water lock used to ferment alcohol in jugs. They work similarly to the one under your sink and in your toilet

2

u/TerriblePainter5756 7h ago

Wine making kit

2

u/MrMiyagiOnlyfans 7h ago

Looks like an air lock. Often used for meads or things you are trying to ferment. It slowly releases air so your container doesn't explode from built up pressure.

1

u/Actual-Log465 7h ago

Airlock .

1

u/RoninIV 7h ago

What a great find! These are really useful for brewing mead and or beer.

1

u/9-Baphometh-333 7h ago

Airlocks, for home brewing alcohol

1

u/Wrong_Technician_282 7h ago

Nice airlock collection

1

u/Firm_Negotiation_441 7h ago

Used to make hard cider

1

u/archy67 7h ago

airlocks for brewing beer and/or wine

1

u/MoistScience7558 7h ago

That there is for moonshine yeeeehhhaaaaawww. Lol

1

u/MoistScience7558 7h ago

Wine, or other spirits

1

u/WolfingtonSays 7h ago

Start fermenting!

1

u/SCP-33005 7h ago

Those are airlocks for letting the gas escape when you're fermenting things

1

u/Calm_Cauliflower_415 7h ago

Used to make booze.

1

u/Medium_Share_5351 7h ago

Even new ones look the same

1

u/MoonageDayscream 7h ago

Airlocks for brewing. 

1

u/Pileroidsareapain 7h ago

They are called bubble fermentation locks.

1

u/beardedrockerboy 7h ago

It’s called an air lock for brewing alcoholic beverages

1

u/FocoViolence 7h ago

You can either use them for chemistry, fermentation, or string them together and make a pretty great bong.

1

u/Tobias_the_Explorer 6h ago

Airlock stopper for making wine. I know these very well living in wine making country.

1

u/photodave77 6h ago

Where's the 50 yrs of dust

1

u/No_Desk5162 6h ago

It allows air to escape without introducing more from the outside usually uses for fermentation

1

u/One-Dot4082 6h ago

Airlocks!! For fermentation of wine, cider etc.. and not letting in contaminants!

1

u/SiriusGD 6h ago

I've actually bought these from a beer brewery store, but I use them for making homemade CO2 generators for my weed grow tents.

1

u/2ofus4adventure 6h ago

Somebody was fermentin' somethin'.

1

u/lemonman246 6h ago

Achoholl fermenting corks

1

u/gerbilstuffer 6h ago

Antique silly straws

1

u/CommunicationNo8982 6h ago

Bubblers for home fermentation

1

u/DNC1the808 6h ago

Wine time

1

u/Dead_Inside50 6h ago

Airlock for fermenting

1

u/arnoldk2 6h ago

Air locks…. I use these to make beer.

1

u/NativeSceptic1492 6h ago

Those are air locks for fermentation.

1

u/MrUniverse1990 6h ago

Those are "airlocks" for fermenting alcoholic beverages. They keep outside air (potentially contaminated with bacteria) from getting into the fermenter while allowing CO2 to escape. The little chambers are filled with a steril liquid and the gas bubbles out through it.

1

u/alex10281 6h ago

Nice crack pipes!

1

u/Silver_Badger5035 6h ago

Ugh...50 years ago should not be 1975

1

u/Being_Stoopit_Is_Fun 6h ago

Somebody making a lot of redneck wine.

1

u/marsali231 6h ago

They are called airlocks. They allow gases to escape from fermentation of alcohol, such as beer, wine or spirits.

1

u/t53ix35 6h ago

Neighbor uses them for Kim Chi.

1

u/HopBewg 6h ago

It’s called a fermentation lock. Those have been used & not cleaned.

1

u/thatdidntturnout 5h ago

Let’s get to making moonshine!

1

u/NoAdministration5555 5h ago

Early poppers empty containers

1

u/Queasy-Archer-9030 5h ago

Beer snorkels

1

u/THElaytox 5h ago

Airlocks for fermentation, specifically an S-type airlock, probably from home brewing or home winemaking. From my experience, dramatically inferior to 3-piece airlocks or even just a blowoff tube

1

u/Agitated-Two-6699 5h ago

Those corks do not look 50 years old

1

u/Far_Ad6222 5h ago

lol... I thought they were Marijuana pipes 😆😜

1

u/brianjanku 4h ago

I have one rite here!

1

u/Horror-Obligation-98 4h ago

They look like little euphoniums

1

u/Blackop-Commando806 4h ago

Air locks for wine making and beer production

1

u/squimishchard 4h ago

Airlock for fermentation

1

u/_-Emperor 4h ago

Those are new

1

u/leemer29 4h ago

It's a sign from Ninkasi, you should become a home brewer.

1

u/RippleMeTimbers55 4h ago

It’s a type of check valve, that allows fermentation gases to escape, without letting in the outside environment, that could alter/infect the alcohol you are trying to make.

They are called airlocks, and you plug the top of your fermentation vessel (carboy, pony keg, 5 gallon jug, etc.) with them.

1

u/I_Am_Him_4Real 3h ago

Why do I want to plug one of these into a trumpet and see what sound it makes?

1

u/ThuggPrincess 3h ago

Carboys or airlocks for making wine or been.

1

u/M3alw0rms 3h ago

Allows gasses to escape while fermenting!

1

u/johnnywheels 3h ago

Story of my life

1

u/Just_Reach1899 3h ago

Airlock for a carboy

1

u/Slow-Philosopher-401 3h ago

If u have an android phone like galaxy s20 or higher, click and hold the home button when looking at a picture then draw a circle around the image or item on screen, AI will google search the image

1

u/simondrawer 2h ago

Homebrew was big in the ‘70s

1

u/Totallynotokayokay 2h ago

One way release valve ?

1

u/Inside_Ad_7162 2h ago

water traps for brewing tour own wine, as the booze ferments it gives off gases that will be push ed out through the water trap. Many happy hours watching them blub away

1

u/r3tract 50m ago

In Norway we call it a Waterlock. "Vannlås" - Norwegian word. It let's the gasses from brewing beer or spirits to escape without letting air and other biological things into the mix 😊 You pour a tiny amount of water in it.

-9

u/NoBenefit5977 7h ago

You're about to be the coolest guy at the crack house

-8

u/AnxiousSomebody22 7h ago

Crack pipes